“Since iPads are so light and mobile, the children can easily use them while they ride horseback, feed the ducks, or simply go for a walk.” said Caswell. “Using the iPads in all kinds of varied and engaging environments keeps the children from getting bored and encourages them to communicate at a higher level.”

Autism affects one in 88 children; it is more likely to affect boys than girls.​About 40 percent of children with autism do not speak.Autism is a disorder that appears in the first three years of life and affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. Though the exact causes remain unknown, research has shown genetic factors play an important role.Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Autism Association

Tina Caswell works with STAT to lead the therapy sessions and to help develop program protocol. Ithaca College speech-language pathology graduate students assist Caswell in teaching and coaching the children and parents during the riding sessions. View more information here: http://www.statinc.org/

Tina Caswell

Tina Caswell is a clinical instructor in Ithaca College’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, where she teaches and supervises graduate-level clinicians and operates an assistive technology lab on campus specializing in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Working with STAT, she specializes in assisting children with complex communications needs that require AAC to communicate with others.

Students who graduate from the Ithaca College program are fully prepared to provide therapy in their field or conduct advanced research. One hundred percent of graduate-level students from the recent 2011–12 class found professional employment immediately after graduation.